The World of Mexican Migrants Migration of Mexicans is not a new topic, regardless of their destination. It has been going on for hundreds of years. Each migrant has a different story, and a different reason for moving. Of the Mexicans interviewed by Judith Hellman, the author of the book, The World of Mexican Migrants, it is clear that many of them migrated to the United States in order to create new and better lives for themselves, help their parents as much as possible, and raise a family in which all members are, and stay together: this migration has changed the lives of these people by teaching them to hold down a job, stay out of legal trouble, and save and budget their money. Mexicans of all ages migrate to the United States, for many
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Holding down a job was necessary for steady income and a long term stay in the United States. Travel is expensive and if these migrants ever want to go home for the holidays or a local celebration, they would need to keep working. That was motivation for some, but many were forced to just stay in the States (Hellman 114). Carlos, a Mexican who lived in the U.S. on a student visa shared his story about working and holding jobs in the United States (Hellman 119). Since he was not supposed to be working on a student visa, he had to create a fake identity (Hellman 119-120). Carlos worked to earn money, and for each job he held, he had a different name. With fake identities come fake papers, and Carlos seems to know for a fact that the legitimacy of those papers doesn’t really matter because no one really checks. What matters is that he has papers (Hellman 122). Jobs are what keep the majority of migrants in the country. Graciela, a woman from Puebla, whose husband works in upstate New York, talked about how she kept urging her husband to ask his boss to sponsor him for a green card. She says his boss seems to like him as a worker, and he’s been there for a long time (Hellman 125). Graciela’s husband Alberto, and Carlos are both hard workers, but they know it’s cheaper for their employer if they stay undocumented (Hellman 124). These workers …show more content…
Maybe it was for the health, well-being, and happiness of their family like Elena, maybe it’s to someday escape the unfair customs like Marta, maybe it’s to help support their family and hometown like many of the citizens of San Rafael, or maybe it’s just to get a job and make a name for themselves and their families even without an advanced degree from a Mexican University. Many of these migrants risked their lives moving back and forth across the borders, but through their experiences, they changed their lives and possibly the lives of their children by learning the ability to keep jobs, stay out of legal trouble, and budget their money to support themselves and to send remittances and financial support to family back
Holding down a job was necessary for steady income and a long term stay in the United States. Travel is expensive and if these migrants ever want to go home for the holidays or a local celebration, they would need to keep working. That was motivation for some, but many were forced to just stay in the States (Hellman 114). Carlos, a Mexican who lived in the U.S. on a student visa shared his story about working and holding jobs in the United States (Hellman 119). Since he was not supposed to be working on a student visa, he had to create a fake identity (Hellman 119-120). Carlos worked to earn money, and for each job he held, he had a different name. With fake identities come fake papers, and Carlos seems to know for a fact that the legitimacy of those papers doesn’t really matter because no one really checks. What matters is that he has papers (Hellman 122). Jobs are what keep the majority of migrants in the country. Graciela, a woman from Puebla, whose husband works in upstate New York, talked about how she kept urging her husband to ask his boss to sponsor him for a green card. She says his boss seems to like him as a worker, and he’s been there for a long time (Hellman 125). Graciela’s husband Alberto, and Carlos are both hard workers, but they know it’s cheaper for their employer if they stay undocumented (Hellman 124). These workers …show more content…
Maybe it was for the health, well-being, and happiness of their family like Elena, maybe it’s to someday escape the unfair customs like Marta, maybe it’s to help support their family and hometown like many of the citizens of San Rafael, or maybe it’s just to get a job and make a name for themselves and their families even without an advanced degree from a Mexican University. Many of these migrants risked their lives moving back and forth across the borders, but through their experiences, they changed their lives and possibly the lives of their children by learning the ability to keep jobs, stay out of legal trouble, and budget their money to support themselves and to send remittances and financial support to family back